Even though Iraq as a name and a political body is new but its territory is a craddle of civilizations. It was the home of Mesopotamia with a great mix of Arabs, Kurds and Turks. In fact the arrival of Turks also marks more than 1000 years during the Abbasid era. Then the Turks rose to the ruling positions with the Seljukis until being destroyed by the Mongol invasions. Later during the Ottoman period, Iraq prospered with agriculture and trade so much so that the Ottomans said “There is no beloved like a mother, nor a city like Baghdad” is a proof of the Turks’ fascination with Iraq

With partnership with the Germans, the Berlin-Baghdad railroad project was resembling China’s recent project of road and belt. If completed, this major project would change the balance of trade and power to the favor of the Ottoman empire while Iraqi people would benefit from it a lot. However, the World War I blocked this progress as the region was invaded by Great Britain and they controlled the resource of newly found Iraqi oil. The all factions of the Iraqi society (i.e. Shia, Sunni, Kurds, Arabs, Turkmens, etc.) supported the Ottoman state against the British invasion. After the war, the general “divide and rule policy” in the region and the ensuing political instability did not allow Iraq to achieve its real potential.

The borders of new Iraq and Turkey were drawn according to the 1926 Ankara Treaty that also bans the harboring any illegal groups against each other. After the independence of Iraq from Britain, the bilateral relations increased between Turkey and Iraq. In 1932, the King Faisal visited Turkey and then appointed his brother prince Zaid as an ambassador to Turkey. In 1937, Turkey and Iraq signed a non-aggression treaty that included Iran and Afghanistan as well. A similar approach continued after the World War II with the establishment of the Baghdad Pact that later included İran, Pakistan and the UK but Iraq withdrew from it after a military coup by Abdalkarim Qasim in 1958.

The Turkish-Iraqi relations continued during the Saddam rule despite the fact that Saddam’s Arabist policies were suppressing Turkmens and other groups. The Saddam government allowed Turkish operations inside Iraq. In fact, the Ankara treaty requires one country not preventing terrorist groups from attacking either country. The Turkish exports to Iraq deteriorated during the American embargo on Iraq during the 1990s. The fall of the Saddam Hussein coincided with the newly arrival of the AK Party in power as the Turkish parliament did not allow American troops to use its territories.

The US invasion of Iraq did bring stability, real democracy and prosperity to Iraq. President Obama left Iraq for the Iranian influence, damaging Turkish interests. The arrival of ISIS targeted both Turkey and Iraq. Similarly, the presence of the PKK is also damaging stability and security of both countries and the relations between the two. Today, the PKK issue remains the most thorny issue between Iraq and Turkey because the USA, Iran and some Kurdish factions support or symphatize with the PKK. Unlike the Barzani faction, the Talebani faction in Sulaimania tolerate the PKK activities in their areas. Among the Shia factions, the pro-Iran Hashd Shaabi groups also cooperate with the PKK terrorist groups. We witness an improvement in Iraqi understanding against the PKK both in Erbil and Baghdad.

The other problematic issue between the two countries is the water issue. As a source country, Turkey built dams in around the rivers of Tigris and Euphrates to produce electricity and agriculture and it does not divert rivers like Iran. We keep hearing from the Iraqis demanding from Turkey to release more water but the problem in Iraq is not mismanagement of water including pollution and evaporation. Iraq also have other infrastructure problems vis-à-vis electricity and transportation.

On the positive side Turkey and Iraq want to improve relations as they each other to open up to the East and the West. Economic and political relations continue to improve significantly after the Maliki period that witnessed the worst point. After the arrival of the Sudani government this trend accelerated as he tries to balance and diversify the relations with neighbors. The recent visit of the Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan to Iraq during with he was welcomed by almost all actors in Iraq. We witnessed promising talks about security cooperation and Turkey’s support for the trade corridor through Iraq.